a Fascination of Fear
by thegirlwhowaited411
Summary: Dr. Elise Cameron is the psychologist assigned to Jonathan Crane and his creation the Scarecrow...that is until he breaks out of Arkham. For Elise,figuring out Jonathan's fear came with a price and now Fear's incarnate is fascinated with her. There's nowhere in the city she can hide...but does she really want to? Eventual Crane/OC. Rated T just in case...you never know.


**Hey there fellow fanfictioner! This is my first attempt in the Nolan Batman universe,hope it's alright. Not to farfetched. So far I have at least 3 more chapters after this one to write. So stay tuned! :)**

**disclaimer: this is a fanfiction, and as such I hold to rights to anything recognizable within this story. thanks.**

Dr. Elise Cameron stared across the top of her clipboard to meet the calculating expression of her patient Dr. Jonathan Crane. He gaze was even and unwavering as well. They always started his sessions like this. A staring contest, one qualified Doctor evaluating the other. It had become a game of sorts between them. Crane was to be held at Arkham Asylum indefinitely and this was his only real time to have decent, educated discussion. Something to challenge his brilliant, insane mind. The young female doctor had realized quite awhile ago that trying to cure his split personality was practically implausible. Instead, she needed to figure out why his split personality was created, and still existed to this day. She needed to understand this man totally before any progress could be made. But instead, Elise had become enthralled with the man in front of her. His mind was a puzzle that he was willingly letting her play with... they both knew he just wanted to see if she could finish it.

They were in her cozy office in the Asylum, on the second floor seated on red recliners, separated by the low coffee table in front of her. The office was small compared to the rest on the floor but neither of them truly cared. It was simply ironic that this used to be his office as well. The same dark green paint covered the walls, and what used to be his desk was now covered in her odd little knick-knacks. Between these four walls was where he had perfected the fear toxin. Sometimes when he stepped foot in here Scarecrow would inhale a deep breath, pretending to still smell his chemicals. It was easy to admit his psychotic side missed those.

The only sound was the ticking of the clock above the door. Tick. His unnervingly blue eyes glinted from behind his glasses as he inspected Elise's own features. Tock. What would he learn about her today? She stayed still as she mentally checked off her own observations, both blinking as one.

"You didn't sleep well last night." He spoke finally. Hmmm. she was expecting him to give a rundown of how she was the victim of a terrible date. He could normally guess everything about those...

"No, I did not." She replied. Silence hung in the room again. He leaned forward in his chair, uncrossing his legs and bringing his knees apart. His elbows came to rest on his orange jumper-clad knees and templed his long fingers together, bringing them to his well defined lips.

"Do you care to share why that is, Elise?" His intense gaze flickered to her hand as she tucked a strand of her honey-colored hair behind her ear. She then leaned forward to mimic his stance, oozing confidence.

"I finally figured you out Jonathan." Her lips curled into a grin, and he did his best, as he did every week, to ignore how pink they were. Jonathan felt a rising flurry of emotion pass through him and realized Scarecrow wanted to come out and play. His alter ego was quite interested to see what the pretty young Doctor thought about them today. Ungh, not now.

"Really." He was able to whisper out, his eyes darkening, pupils dilating. Elise nodded slowly knowing what was happening inside his mind. Dr. Crane was fighting for dominance with the Scarecrow. But when Scarecrow wanted out, he always won. A devilish smirk spread on his admittedly handsome features, and sent a now familiar chill down her spine. One she still could not determine if was pleasurable or not. Being attracted to an insane criminal who is also your patient is entirely unprofessional.

Deft fingers took off the glasses on the bridge of his nose and set them on the cushion next to him. "Tell me doll, what exactly do you think you know?" His entire demeanor had changed, becoming laid back and cynical. He stretched out, his arms resting on the back of the sofa. Elise kicked her shoes off and brought her feet up underneath her legs. Might as well get comfortable. The Scarecrow may be crazy, but he had shown no violent tendencies towards her since she started working with him three months ago.

"I know what your fear is, Scarecrow." The words rolled of her tongue like honey, coating the mans ears. "I dug through your previous psychologist's files and found a particular story you decided not to share with me." He quirked his head a little to her left, surprisingly reptilian-like. "Would you like to know? Or should I get straight to the point?" Scarecrow mused over her questions, he and the reserved Dr. Crane flip-flopping between what answer to give the fair lady. 'To see how much she knows, or not...tis the question.' Scarecrow asked the entity in the back of his mind. 'To allow her the satisfaction of knowing you more, or crushing her obvious excitement by denying her the truth.'

'Whatever seems the funnest to you. You're the one doing the talking.' Crane bantered.

"I would like to hear how you came to the conclusion that I, the _master_ of Fears, could possibly have one." His eyes roamed over his psychologist, wondering how on earth he could have underestimated her the first time he was assigned to Ms. Elise Cameron. A quick witted mind, not unlike Crane's own hid behind her youthful face and green eyes. She knew that his Scarecrow side was intrigued by her, but that the Crane side... his 'gentlemanly side' she liked to call it was far to refined to act on it. After all this time he still didn't have a clue.

'One of us has to be moral.' Unaware of the focus of Scarecrow's mind, she reached down and picked up a black, nondescript binder from off the coffee table and flipped it open.

" these are the personal notes of Dr. Nathan. He never had them officially 13th, 2005." Elise read, her eyes flickering up to meet his. Did he recognize the date? " 15th session. Seeing as we went over his childhood yesterday, I decided to see if he would reveal his high school experiences...most issues evolve from this time in a persons life." Scarecrow stared silently at her as she brought up memories of his freshman through junior years of high school... all the pain and misery he went through at the hands of others. His fingers twitched with the urge to rip the binder out of her hands and throw it out the window... but curiosity won out.

"What does re accounting my teenage years, darling, have anything to do with my supposed fears?"

"It's what comes right after this that really got me to thinking Scarecrow." He leaned forward, eyes flashing dangerously.

"And what would that be?" He already knew

"The first time in Dr. Crane's memory of hearing the Scarecrow occurred after what seems to be quite an emotional incident for him. It was hard for him to speak of this, and we moved on soon afterwards. He was rejected by a young woman by the name of Sherry Squires," Scarecrows body visibly stiffened, "And was brutally bullied by her boyfriend Bo Griggs. Here, his conscience whispered for revenge. He soon followed through on Halloween night, dressed as a Scarecrow."

"Now, Ms. Cameron. How is this important?" he drawled, trying to divert her from whatever she wanted to prove. Elise ignored him and flipped back two pages.

"August 14th, 2005. Dr. Crane's 14th session...He grew up without the love of parents... was raised by a borderline psychotic aunt. Gained no affection from this woman; was probably abused. Refused to expound on this subject. School peers mocked him for being quiet and strange. Developed a fascination with the human mind around this time, driven to find out why he was treated the way he was."Scarecrow was fidgeting now. What was the point of speaking about the days before his creation? Elise closed the binder and moved around on her own comfy chair, the sleeve of her blouse slipping down her shoulder slightly.

"Based on these accounts and a few other observations... I think I have figured out a fear of yours."

"Pray tell."A muscle on his face twitched. Elise leaned forward, so close to him that he could see the patterns in her irises. Scarecrow internally spouted a comment about how hypnotic those eyes were. Jonny-boy told him to shut up so that they could listen.

"You, Jonathan Crane, became afraid of affection. Of being loved. Or the reverse, feeling those for another." The criminal felt flabbergasted. Even he, the master of fear had not come to this conclusion about himself. Elise watched as the Scarecrow demeanor slowly faded away to reveal the Dr. once again. He blinked once. Twice.

"Interesting." was all he said as Crane slid his glasses back onto his nose. The man closed in on himself, sinking into the plush chair and started to self-analyze. Elise, used to this behavior waited patiently for him to come to his own conclusions. Unfortunately, her patient spoke no more words for the rest of the allotted hour. It was maddening. Was she correct? Elise spent the rest of their time flipping through other patients files, glancing up once or twice to find Dr. Crane staring at her. A bell outside her office buzzed, and the door opened. Two guards walked in, the tweedier one brandishing handcuffs. The metal restraints snapped onto his wrists, and not a word was spoken in the room.

"Farewell Dr. Cameron." The inmate finally spoke as he turned to her on his way out the door, head tilted slightly with a grin on his lips.

"I will see you tomorrow Dr. Crane." She said with a note of finality. The man only grinned wider at the beautiful blonde left sitting in his old office. He would miss that office.

The next day Elise arrived to work at 8 am sharp only to learn that the Scarecrow had escaped the asylum, releasing with him Jervis Tech, known as the Hatter. Her heels clicked on the linoleum floor as she approached her office, pausing slightly to see that the door was unlocked and opened about an inch. Shifting the heavy binder in her hands to use it as a club if need be, she slowly edged the door open. The doctor glanced around. No one was in the room. Her hand flicked out and flipped the light-switch. Her eyes widened at the sight on her desk. It was entirely clear except for a white card placed on the middle of the surface.

Trembling fingers picked it up and opened it to reveal the elegant scrawl of Jonathan Crane in red ink.

'I must applaud you for figuring out the one fear of Fear's Incarnate. Remember darling, there is nothing for _you_ to fear except FEAR ITSELF.'

x SCARECROW

**Whoo! One chapter down... was it any good? Too confusing? Practically perfect in every way? XD Leave me a review with comments, critiques or flames if you feel it necessary to do so. Anything to help improve my writing is a plus.**

**Thanks, and DFTBA.**


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